Hooton 
The  Battle  of  Brandywine 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


THK 


LE  OF  BRANDY  WINE 


\VITU     ITS 


LINES    OF     BATTLE, 


THE  OLD  FLAG'S  BAPTISM  OF  FIRE,  ETC. 


>1.   F.   C.    Hooton   and    His  Committee   Make   Report  of 
Their  Researches  to  McCall  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  Concern- 
ing Various  Points  of  That  Memorable  Struggle. 


l>i«i 

: \NLTV    HAY.    I'Ki 


Wf-ST 


OF 

BRANDYVWNE 

r OUGHT  AT 

BIRMINGHAM,  PA., 
SEPTEMBER  11.1777. 


AMERICANS,  ca 
ITISH,      at 


H'V* 


THE 


Battle  of  Brandywine 

With  Its  Lines  of  Battle. 


COL.  F.  C.  HOOTON  AND  His  COMMITTEE  MAKE  REPORT  OF  THEIR  RESEARCHES  TO 
McCALL  POST,  G.  A.  R.,  CONCERNING  VARIOUS  POINTS  OF  THAT  MEMOR- 
ABLE  STRUGGLE. 


THE  OLD  FLAG'S  BAPTISM  OF  FIRE,  ETC. 


McCall  Post,  Xo.  31,  G.  A.  R.,  West  Chester,  met  Friday 
evening,  June  30,  A.  D.  1900. 

The  Committee  on  the  Baptism  of  the  American  Flag  in 
battle,  and  matters  of  interest  generally  relating  to  the  history 
of  the  Battle  of  Brandywine  made  its  report,  through  its  Chair- 
man, Col.  F.  C.  Hooton,  which  we  publish  below,  in  full,  be- 
cause of  its  general  interest. 

The  Post  also  decided  to  erect  a  fine  flag  pole  and  fling  to  the 
breeze  a  beautiful  flag  at  Sandy  Hollow,  on  the  farm  of  Henry 
Bennett,  in  commemoration  of  the  heroic  stand  made  there  by 
General  Greene's  command,  and  the  American  dead  who  are 
buried  there. 

The  pole  will  be  erected  there  on  September  11  next,  and  the 
Secretary  of  War  has  been  asked  for  a  cannon  to  be  placed 
there. 

Congressman  Butler  has  been  requested  to  look  after  this 

part  of  the  matter. 

(D 


960383 


2 

To  the  Post  Commander,  officers  and.meiiibers  of  Gen.  George 
A.  McCall  Post,  No.  31,  G.  A.  K.,  Department  of  Pennsyl- 
vania: 

The  committee  appointed  to  investigate  and  report  as  to 
whether  the  tradition  that  the  American  flag,  the  stars  and 
stripes,  was  first  unfurled  in  battle  at  the  Battle  of  Brandy- 
wine,  fought  September  11,  A.  D.  1777,  is  true  or  not,  respect- 
fully reports: 

It  appears  that  the  necessity  for  a  common  flag  occurred  to 
Benjamin  Franklin,  Thomas  Lynch,  of  South  Carolina,  and 
Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Virginia,  who  visited  Washington's 
camp  at  Cambridge,  in  October,  1775,  as  a  committee  from  Con- 
gress, to  consult  with  him  as  to  the  best  method  of  continuing 
and  supporting  a  regular  continental  army. 

The  result  of  their  conference  was  the  adoption  of  a  flag 
which  was  partly  the  British  flag  with  the  thirteen  red  and 
white  stripes  added  to  it  to  represent  the  thirteen  colonies. 

This  flag  was  carried  into  Boston  when  it  was  evacuated,  at 
the  defeat  of  our  forces  on  Long  Island,  at  the  defence  of  Forts 
Washington  and  Lee,  in  the  retreat  through  New  Jersey  and 
at  the  victories  at  Princeton  and  Trenton,  but  from  its  simi- 
larity to  the  British  flag  it  was  deemed  advisable  after  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence  to  abandon  it. 

Accordingly  on  Saturday,  June  14.  1777.  Congress  resolved 
that  the  flag  of  the  thirteen  Fnited  States  should  be  thirteen 
stripes,  alternately,  red  and  white,  and  the  union  should  be 
thirteen  stars,  white  in  a  blue  field,  representing  a  new  con- 
stellation. 

This  date  is  therefore  the  birthday  of  the  American  flag. 
This  resolution  was  not  published  in  the  newspapers  until 
August  and  was  not  officially  promulgated  under  the 
signature  of  the  Secretary  of  Congress  at  Philadelphia, 
until  the  3d  of  September,  eight  days  before  the  Battle 
of  Brandywine,  but  it  seems  to  be  well  authenticated 
that  the  stars  and  stripes  except  as  to  the  number  of  the  stars 
was  first  unfurled  in  the  Battle  of  Brandywine.  fought  in  what 
was  then  Chester  county.  Pennsylvania,  but  from  the  division 
of  the  county,  is  now  partly  in  Chester  county  and  partly  in 
Delaware  county,  on  September  11.  A.  D.  1777. 
.  In  1704  the  States  of  Vermont  and  Kentucky  having  been  ad- 


mitted.  the  flag  was  by  act  of  Congress  changed  and  two  stars 
and  two  stripes  added,  making  fifteen  stars  and  fifteen  stripes. 

This  flag  continued  to  be  the  national  flag  until  1818.  It  was 
under  that  flag  we  won  our  naval  victories  and  our  victories 
on  land  in  the  war  of  1812. 

In  1818  Congress  passed  an  act  by  which  we  went  back  to 
the  flag  of  the  Revolution,  with  thirteen  stripes,  alternately 
red  and  white,  with  a.  blue  field,  in  this  field  to  be  one  star  for 
every  State  in  the  Union. 

We,  therefore,  carried  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  the  same 
flag  our  ancestors  carried  in  the  Revolution,  first  unfurled 
at  Brandywine,  except  with  the  increase  of  the  number  of 
stars. 

Every  military  post  is  provided  with  three  flags:  first,  the 
garrison  flag,  which  is  twenty  feet  wide  and  thirty-six  feet 
i<mjr:  second,  the  post  flag,  which  is  ten  feet  wide  and  twenty 
feet  long;  third,  the  storm  flag,  which  is  four  feet  two  inches 
wide  and  eight  feet  long. 

Each  regiment  in  the  army  has  two  flags  known  as  the  colors. 
One  of  the  national  flag,  the  other  the  regimental  flag,  both  of 
silk. 

Each  of  these  flags  except  for  the  cavalry,  is  four  feet  six 
inches  wide  and  five  feet  six  inches  long;  the  pike  is  nine  feet 
in  length. 

The  cavalry  colors  which  are  somewhat  smaller  are  called 
standards  and  the  pike  somewhat  longer. 

The  centre  stripe  of  the  flag  has  embroidered  on  it  the  name 
and  number  of  the  regiment.  The  regimental  flag  is  scarlet, 
for  the  engineers  and  the  artillery,  blue  for  the  infantry  and 
yellow  for  the  cavalry. 

The  regimental  flag  has  on  it  the  c-oat  of  arms  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  number  or  name  of  the  regiment.  In  a  volun- 
teer regiment  the  coat  of  arms  of  the  State  it  is  from  and  the 
number  and  name  of  the  regiment. 

When  we  recall  the  number  of  engagements  on  sea  and  land 
in  which  our  flag  has  been  unfurled,  we  naturally  experi- 
ence a  desire  to  know  something  about  the  history  of  its  first 
engagement,  whether  the  soldiers  who  carried  it  showed  proper 
courage,  whether  they  maintained  their  ground  as  you  would 
hope  thej'  did  and,  in  general,  whether  there  was  anything  in 
the  flags  first  battle  to  be  ashamed  of. 


On  August  25.  1777,  the  British  army  under  the  command  of 
Sir  William  Howe  with,  as  Capt.  Montressor,  Howe's  chief  en- 
gineer officer  states,  18,000  men  landed  at  Turkey  Point  on 
the  Elk,  in  Cecil  county,  Maryland,  on  their  expedition  for  the 
capture  of  Philadelphia,  the  Capitol  of  the  colonies. 

This  army  Howe  immediately  divided  into  two  grand  divi- 
sions, one  of  11,000  men  under  Gen.  Knyphausen,  the  other  of 
7,000  men  under  Lord  Corn wa His. 

These"  two  divisions  advanced  by  easy  stages  on  the  road 
towards  Philadelphia,  skirmishing  daily  with  the  Americans 
until  the  10th  of  September,  on  the  evening  of  which  day  both 
divisions  reached  Kennett  Square.  Here  the  British  General 
learned  that  General  Washington  had  made  every  preparation 
to  dispute  his  further  advance  at  the  Brandywine,  some  seven 
miles  distant. 

He  accordingly  arranged  his  plan  of  attack.  Washington's 
army  consisting  of  aboutJJLOOO  men,  divided  into  five  divisions 
of  aboirt_1^00  men  carfi^-witfa-  Maxwell's  corps  of  riflemen  of 
about  300  men,  together  with  1,500  militia  under  General  Arm- 
strong, commanded  respectively  by  Generals  Stirling,  Stevens, 
Sullivan,  Greene  and  \Yayne,  had  been  slowly  falling  back  be- 
fore the  British. 

The  Brandywine  is  a  considerable  stream,  capable  of  being 
forded  at  many  places.  Within  the  distance  of  nine  miles 
it  is  crossed  at  the  following  places: 

Pyle's  Ford,  two  miles  below  Chadd's  Ford,  where  Washing- 
ton made  his  stand;  Brinton's  Ford,  two  miles  above;  then 
Jones'  Ford,  a  mile  above,  now  called  Painter's  Bridge;  Wis- 
ter's  Ford,  now  called  Lenape;  more  than  a  mile  above  that, 
nufh'ngton's  Ford,  now  called  Shaw's  Bridge,  and  Jefferis' 
Ford,  about  a  mile  above  the  last  named  ford. 

The  troops  of  Wayne,  Stirling  and  Stevens  were  stationed 
back  of  and  above  Chadd's  Ford.  The  division  of  Sullivan  ex- 
tended up  to  Brinton's  Ford,  Greene  was  held  in  reserve,  while 
the  militia  were  at  Pyle's  Ford. 

Colonel  Hazen  with  two  regiments  had  been  ordered  to 
guard  the  fords  above  Brinton's  Ford. 

He  placed  a  Delaware  regiment  at  Painter's  Bridge,  half  of 
his  own  regiment  at  the  Lenape  Ford,  and  the  other  half  at 
YlnfHngton's  Ford.  The  British  plan  of  battle  provided  that 


5 

the  division  of  Cornwallis,  which  Howe  personally  accom- 
panied, should  make  a  wide  detour,  get  in  Washington's  right 
and  rear  at  Dilworthtown,  thus  cutting  him  off  from  Philadel- 
phia, while  Knyphausen  should  advance  opposite  Chadd's  Ford 
with  threatening  demonstrations  until  such  time  as  Cornwal- 
lis had  reached  Dilworthtown,  which  Knyphausen  could  de- 
termine \)y  the  sound  of  the  cannon,  when  he  should  cross  and 
with  their  combined  attack  crush  Washington  between  them 
and  drive  him  down  the  Delaware  peninsula. 

Cornwallis  started  at  daybreak;  Knyphausen  at  five  o'clock. 
Knyphausen  had  seven  miles  to  go;  Cornwallis,  sixteen.  The 
morning  was  hot  and  foggy  until  eleven  o'clock. 

The  head  of  Cornwallis  column  reached  Sconneltown  about 
three  miles  from  the  battlegrounds  at  Birmingham,  a  little 
after  one  o'clock,  where  they  halted,  that  the  rear  of  the 
column  might  come  up. 

Here  they  rested  more  than  an  hour  and  fed  the  horses  and 
the  men.  In  the  meantime  General  Washington,  who  about 
two  o'clock  had  learned  of  the  approach  of  this  flanking'column, 
saw  that  he  must  deliver  battle  at  Birmingham  and  not  at 
Chadd's  Ford  as  he  had  determined,  and  that  he  must  hold  the 
enemy  in  check  at  Birmingham,  at  all  hazards,  until  .his  trains 
had  been  sufficiently  advanced  on  the  retreat  towards  Chester, 
and  until  the  troops  at  Chadd's  Ford  should  succeed  in  retreat- 
ing beyond  the  line  of  Dilworthtown. 

He  accordingly  threw  all  of  his  available  force  into  the  fight 
at  Birmingham  with  the  exception  of  Wayne,  whom  he  held 
at  Chadd's  Ford  to  keep  Knyphausen  in  check,  and  the  militia 
at  Pyle's  Ford,  two  miles  below. 

General  Knyphausen  in  his  official  report  says  he  observed 
great  commotion  amongst  the  Americans  at  two  o'clock. 

He  saw  four  batteries  of  artillery  move  from  Washington's 
left  to  his  right,  and  the  trains  begin  to  move  hither  and  thither 
on  the  road  towards  Chester. 

Washington  immediately  ordered  Stirling  and  Stevens  to 
Birmingham.  At  half  past  two  he  ordered  Sullivan  with  his 
division  to  join  Stirling  and  Stevens  and  take  command. 

Hazen,  at  Shaw's  Bridge,  at  one  o'clock  saw  the  British 
crossing  at  Jefferis'  Ford,  one  mile  above  and  waiting  until  he 
could  estimate  their  numbers,  commenced  a  rapid  and  cautious 


6 

inarch  down  the  Brandywine,  taking  up  as  he  marched  his  de- 
tachments at  Wister's  Ford,  and  at  Jones'  Ford.  Here  he  met 
General  Sullivan,  who  had  just  come  up  from  Brinton's  Ford 
and  was  proceeding  to  march  east  on  the  Street  road. 

It  is  not  probable  that  Hazen  followed  any  road,  but  most 
likely  marched  through  the  woods  along  the  creek.  There 
was  an  old  road  from  near  Lenape  or  Wister's  Ford,  but  it  was 
much  too  close  to  the  British. 

When  within  probably  half  a  mile  of  the  point  where  the 
road  from  Sconneltown  to  Birmingham  crosses  the  Street 
road,  Sullivan's  advance  saw  the  British  in  the  Street  road 
about  seven  hundred  feet  ahead  of  them. 

The  British  line  of  battle  had  been  formed  on  the  west  side 
of  the  road  from  Sconneltown  to  Birmingham,  a  little  north  of 
the  street  road. 

This  line  could  not  have  been  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
in  length  from  left  to  right.  As  Sullivan  was  seven  hundred 
feet  west  of  the  right  of  this  line,  we  think  it  probable  he  must 
have  been  almost  half  a  mile  west  of  the  road  crossing  before 
mentioned. 

About  the  same  time  Sullivan  saw  the  position  held  by  Stir- 
ling and  Stevens,  which  was  about  half  a  mile  to  his  right  and 
rear  on  ah  eminence. 

In  their  reading  of  Sullivan's  statement,  the  historians,  who 

have  written  about  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  have  all  con- 

luded  that  as  soon  as  Sullivan  saw  the  British  he  went  right 

into  tne  field  a nd  formed  line  of  battle  and  they  think  he 

formed  his  line  about  where  Parker  Xorris'  house  now  stands. 

In  this  conclusion  they  make  no  allowance  for  the  length 
of  the  British  line  of  battle  west  of  the  Birmingham  road. 

It  is  not  likely  that  Sullivan  made  the  extraordinary  move- 
ment of  turning  the  head  of  his  column  to  the  right  and  into 
the  fields  at  the  south  at  the  point  where  he  first  saw  the 
British  ahead  of  him. 

By  such  a  movement  he  would  expose  his  left  flank  and  the 
rear  of  his  entire  column  to  the  enemy  as  he  turned  into  the 
field  and  they  not  more  than  seven  hundred  feet  distant. 

Is  it  not  more  probable  that  he  about  faced  his  whole  column 
and  after  he  had  inarched  a  safe  distance  away  from  the 
iiito  The  field  on  the  south  and  marched 


until  he  was  in  a  line  with  the  other  two  divisions  at  least  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  south  and  west  of  where  historians  think  he 
formed  his  line. 

Thomas  Sharpless,  whose  father  lived  on  the  ground  of  the 
battle,  says  his  father  told  him  that  his  father,  the  grand- 
father, told  him  that  the  American  line  was  first  formed  on  an 
eminence  a'bout  a  quarter  of  a  mile  southwest  of  where  Harvey 
Darlington's  spring  house  stands,  a  proper  position  on  which 
to  plant  artillery  and  place  infantry.  It  is  almost  in  a  line 
with  Stirling  and  Stevens'  position  and  distant  almost  half  a 
mile. 

Any  one  visiting  the  battle  ground  possessed  of  this  informa- 
tion and  reading  Sullivan's  report  will  see  at  a  glance  that  this 
was  undoubtedly  the  place  where  his  line  was  formed. 

Here  he  formed  his  line  unfortunately  with  a  gap  of  almost 
half  a  mile  separating  it  from  the  other  two  divisions. 

It  is  probable  Sullivan  thought  this  the  best  place  to  oppose 
the  British  advance  until  after  he  visited  Stirling  and  Stevens,, 
when  he  determined  to  move  his  troops  to  the  right  and  join 
them. 

Unfortunately  just  as  he  attempted  to  execute  this  move- 
ment the  enemy  commenced  their  attack  upon  him  with  his 
entire  left  flank  exposed. 

This  his  troops  could  not  stand  and  they  broke  and  went  to 
the  rear  as  many  more  experienced  soldiers  would  have  done 
and  cold  not  be  again  brought  into  action. 

We  will  here  give  Sullivan's  account  of  it  in  his  own  lan- 
guage. He  says:  "At. half  past  two  I  received  orders  to  march 
with  my  division  to  join  with  and  take  command  of  that  and 
two  others  to  oppose  the  enemy  who  were  coming  down  on  the 
right  Hank  of  our  army.  I  neither  knew  where  the  enemy  were^ 
nor  what  route  the  other  two  divisions  were  to  take,  and,  of 
course,  could  not  determine  where  I  should  form  a  junction 
with  them. 

"I  began  my  march  in  a  few  minutes  after  I  received  my 
orders  and  had  not  marched  a  mile  when  I  met  Colonel  Hazen 
and  his  regiment,  who  informed  me  that  the  enemy  were  close 
upon  his  heels.  While  I  was  conversing  with  Colonel  Hazen, 
and  our  troops  still  on  the  march,  the  enemy  headed  us  in  the 
road  about  forty  rods  from  our  advanced  guard  this  is  about 


8 

700  feet.  I  then  found  it  necessary  to  turn  off  to  the  right  to 
form  and  so  get  nearer  the  other  two  divisions  in  the  rear  and 
to  the  right  of  the  place  I  then  was.  I  ordered  Colonel  Hazen's 
regiment  to  pass  a  hollow  way,  file  off  to  the  right  and  face  to 
cover  the  artillery.  The  enemy  seeing  this  did  not  press  on, 
but  gave  me  time  to  form  my  division  on  an  advantageous 
height  in  a  line  with  the  other  divisions,  but  almost  half  a  mile 
to  the  left.  I  then  rode  on  to  consult  the  other  general  officers, 
who,  upon  receiving  information  that  the  enemy  were  en- 
deavoring to  outflank  us  on  the  right,  were  unanimously  of  the 
opinion  that  my  division  should  be  brought  on  to  join  the 
others,  and  that  the  whole  should  incline  further  to  the  right 
to  prevent  our  being  outflanked,  but  while  my  division  was 
marching  on  and  before  it  was  possible  for  them  to  form  to 
advantage  the  enemy  pressed  on  with  rapidity  and  attacked 
them,  which  threw  them  into  some  kind  of  confusion/' 

Sullivan  became  the  object  of  much  animadversion  for  his 
movements  on  that  day.  He  was  accused  of  making  a  long 
detour  when  he  should  have  reached  the  desired  point  by  a 
much  shorter  route  across  the  fields. 

He  did  not  know  where  Stirling  and  Stevens  were.  He  did 
not  know  where  the  British  were  until  he  saw  them.  We  have 
no  doubt  the  British  column  was  as  much  surprised  as  Sulli- 
van was  wheD  they  suddenly  confronted  each  other  at  these 
cross  roads. 

When  the  British  saw  Sullivan  form  his  line  with  an  in- 
terval of  almost  half  a  mile  between  him  and  the  left  of  the  line 
at  Mrs.  Kiddle's  hill,  they  probably  thought  this  gap  was  to  be 
filled  by  another  approaching  American  column  and  hastened 
their  attack. 

The  engagement  at  Mrs.  Biddle's  hill  lasted  an  hour  and 
forty  minutes.  The  hill  was  taken  and  retaLk»a-five  times  and 
the  ground  front  mere  to  tne  Meeting  House  was  covered  with 
dead  and  wounded  British. 

The  right  of  the  line  where  (Jen.  Stevens'  commanded  held 
its  position  until  about  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  Gen.  Greene. 

He  opened  his  ranksjo  permit  Stevens'  men  to  pass  through 
and  then  closing  up  again,  placing  part  of  his  men  at  a  defile 
with  Weedin's  Brigade  on  his  left  and  the  balance  of  Muhlen- 
berg's  Brigade  on  his  right,  stubbornly  confronted  the  enemy, 
until  darkness  set  in. 


9 

According  to  the  accounts  of  the  British  historians,  it  was 
with  the  greatest  difficulty  they  could  drive  Stevens  from  his 
position  and  they  state  that  when  his  men  did  retreat  they 
united  with  a  fresh  body  of  Americans.  Undoubtedly  Greene's 
men  took  another  strong  position  and  held  it  until  after  dark. 

Lieut.  McMichael,  of  Col.  Stewart's  Pennsylvania  Regiment, 
of  Greene's  Division,  states  in  his  diary,  that  for  twenty 
minutes  the  troops,  where  his  regiment  was,  fought  the  British 
at  the  distance  of  fifty  yards,  and  continually  repulsed  them 
until  night  set  in. 

Much  speculation  has  been  indulged  in  as  to  where  this  defile 
could  be.  There  is  but  one  defile  between  Birmingham  and 
Dilworthtown.  This  is  at  Sandy  Hollow  where  great  numbers 
of  the  Americans  were  buried. 

This  defile  is  a  very  strong  position.  Two  thousand  men 
could  at  this  day  hold  it  against  three  times  their  numbers. 

We  think  it  is  altogether  probable  this  is  the  point  where 
Gen.  Greene  so  long  held  the  British  at  bay. 

The  duty  which  devolved  on  (Jen.  Wayne  on  this  occasion 
was  of  a  most  delicate  nature.  He  was  required  to  hold  Gen. 
Knyphausen,  who  had  11,000  men  with  him,  in  check,  such  a 
length  of  time"~as  would  prevent  him  from  getting  in  the  rear 
of  the  Americans  fighting  at  Birmingham,  wrhile  he  himself 
must  needs  leave  the  field  before  the  British  fighting  at  Bir- 
mingham should  get  in  his  rear  and  cut  off  his  retreat. 

His  retreat  appears  to  have  been  precipated  by  a  singular 
circumstance.  The  British  and  Hessian  grenadiers  and  the 
light  infantry  made  the  attack  on  Sullivan  and  broke  him 
while  attempting  to  close  the  gap  between  himself  and  the 
troops  on  Mrs.  Biddle's  hill.  They  appear  to  have  followed 
the  flying  troops  until  they  became  inextricably  entangled  in 
a  thick  woods  from  which  they  were  unable  to  emerge.  When 
they  finally  extricated  themselves  they  were  discovered  by 
Wayne  approaching  his  rear,  while  he  was  fighting  Knyphau- 
sen, whereupon  he  was  immediately  compelled  to  retreat. 

These  British  regiments  continued  until  they  reached  Israel 
Gilpin's  house,  where  Gen.  Howe  established  his  headquarters*. 

The  student  investigating  the  history  of  the  Battle  of 
Brandywine,  as  it  is  called,  will  observe  in  the  lines  we  have 
marked  out,  that  we  have  differed  to  some  extent  writh  those 
who  have  preceded  us.  We  feel  compelled  to  state  that  our 


10 

conclusions  are  the  result  of  much  thought,  of  traditions  hand- 
ed down  by  the  contemporaneous  families,  combined  with  some 
military  experience  on  the  part  of  several  members  of  the 
committee. 

In  dividing  his  army  Sir  William  Howe  committed  one  of  thfe 
greatest  military  blimdei^_£LX>m  the  consequences  of  which 
heji&ca^R  d  bj  llHl  liierest  accident.  His  troops  were  first  worn 
out  by  their  sixteen-mile  march  in  the  sweltering  September 
sun  and  then  went  into  battle  beyond  the  aid  of  the  supporting 
I  column  of  Knyphausen. 

Had  he  been  unsuccessful  he  would  have  been  destroyed  be- 
j-£we  ttre'fither  column  could  have  come  to  his  assistance. 

Had  Sullivan  reached  the  ground  fifteen  minutes  earlier  he 
would  have  hern  Hoped  njrTvith  the  other  column,  when  the 
|  British  attack  commenced  and  the  panic  avoided.  Had  Greene 
also  reached  the  ground  where  Stevens  fought,  half  an  hour 
sooner,  we  think  the  battle  would  have  resulted  in  the  com- 
jplcte  overthrow  of  LorcTT'oriiwalTis*  flanking  column,  ending 
^in  its  total  rout.  This  we  are  induced  to  think  from  the  fact 
That  for  an  hour  and  forty  minutes  i  lu>  two  divisions  of  Stirling 
and  Stevens,  aided  by  the  three  regiments  from  Sullivan's  di- 
vision, of  Hazen,  Ogden  and  Dayton,  not  composing  in  all  more 
jlhan  3.000  men.  jwith stood  this  entire  British  column,  cousist- 
in  of  7.000  men.  at  Mrs.  Biddle's  hill,  and  from  the  further  fact 
ttiat  wTTen  (Ten.  Greene  arrived,  his  division,  assisted  by  such 
of  the  broken  column  as  rallied  with  them,  not  numbering  in  all 
more  than .3.01)0  men.  withstood  the  entire  British  column  until 
dark. 

In  Hume's  Histoiy  of  England,  it  is  said:  "This  battle  upset 
all  previous  conclusions.  It  had  been  claimed  that  the  Ameri- 
cans could  not  stand  before  the  King's  troops  in  a  fight  in  the 
open  and  upon  equal  conditions,  but  that  this  battle  upset  all 
of  these  conclusions. 

"The  Americans"  says  the  historian,  "met  the  British  in 
about  equal  numbers,  they  fought  them  face  to  face  in  an  en- 
gagement, which  in  all  of  its  parts  commenced  at  sunrise  and 
did  not  terminate  until  darkness  put  an  end  to  it,  and  while 
1  it  left  the  British  in  possession  of  the  field  it  left  them  in  such 
a  condition  that  thev  could  not  move  from  it  until  after  the 
lapse  of  three  days." 


11 

General  Washington  in  this  engagement  manifested  su- 
perior generalship.  With  but  a  moment  for  thought  he  trans- 
ferred the  great  body  of  his  troops  to  a  new  field,  without  for- 
gettin^_thejiexjes»i^ies of  the  old. 

He  fought  the  flower  of  the  British  army  until  darkness  set 
in  and  almost  defeated  it.  He  then  returned  to  Chester  and 
in  a  few  days  advanced  to  meet  the  British  in  Goshen. 

We  should  remark  that  in  this  history  of  events  we  have 
confined  ourselves  almost  exclusively  to  the  battle  extending 
from  Birmingham  to  Dilworthtown.  The  fighting  in  Knyphau- 
sen's  front  simply  consisted  of  a  series  of  skirmishes  of  greater 
or  less  magnitude,  while  the  great  battle  of  the  day  was  fought 
on  the  lines  we  have  mentioned,  all  of  which  took  place  within 
that  part  of  Birmingham  township,  which  is  in  the  present 
limits  of  Chester  county,  with  a  small  part  of  it  in  Thornbury 
township,  Chester  county,  and  that  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
skirmishing  at  Chadd's  Ford  it  might  well  be  called  the  Battle 
of  Birmingham. 

So  great  was  the  number  of  wounded  the  British  surgeons 
could  not  give  any  attention  to  the  Americans  in  their  hands, 
and  Sir  William  Howe  was  compelled  to  ask  Gen.  Washington 
to  send  him  some  of  his  surgeons  to  attend  to  them.  Several 
Philadelphians  volunteered  for  the  performance  of  this  humane 
duty,  including  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  Dr.  Leiper,  Dr.  La  timer. 
Dr.  Willet  and  their  assistants. 

In  this  engagement  our  ancestors,  indifferently  armed, 
poorly  clad,  insufficiently  fed,  proved  themselves  the  peers  of 
I  he  fines-t  troops  in  the  British  Army,  as  they  boldly  held  alof'r 
the  Stars  and  Stripes,  the  Battle  Flag  of  Freedom,  and  we 
find  much  in  them  to  emulate  and  praise,  but  nothing  to  con- 
demn. 

FRANCIS  C.  HOOTON, 
L.  G.  McCAULEY, 
CHAS.  H.  PENNYPACKER. 
JOS.  THOMPSON. 
WM.  WAYNE,  JR., 
GILBERT  COPE.. 


(13) 


Universi 


from  which  it  was  borrowed 


aulord  ; 


PAMPHLET  BINDER 

Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
Stockton,  Calif. 


REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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